(Post 229 of 263)
Thursday was my last day in Campeche, but with my bus being at 4:20, I still had a full day of tourism! First thing I had to do was figure out what to do with my luggage between the noon checkout and 3:30, when I’d have to head to the ADO station. The hotel offered to keep my suitcase behind the desk, but it wasn’t a secure area, so I had to pack a day bag with all my valuables and then get everything else into the suitcase. It was a tight fit!
I went around the corner to Luan for breakfast. I ordered an americano and a juice of strawberry, pineapple, and… orange? I think. So refreshing!
Breakfast was a croque madame, hold the egg. I was surprised by the mustard, rather than nutmeg, in the béchamel. The bread was excellent. So delicious and a nice change from the Mexican breakfasts I’d been having all week.
I decided to do like Wednesday and go out to a fort, this time Fuerte San Jose and the subaquatic history museum, then walk back into centro for lunch.
This fort was up a couple of really steep streets the likes of which I have not seen since Oaxaca! Like at San Miguel, this was a two-for of the subaquatic archaeology exhibits and those about the fort.
The flooded cave near Tulum. Human added for scale. I am noping. Not visiting this in Tulum even if it is a possibility to do so (not sure if it is)!
I learned about how chocolate was only used in religious rituals, not consumed by regular people, and was not only bitter but very spicy. This is a chocolate serving pot.
This exhibit was in the kitchen of the fort, which had two stoves.
The bathroom was in the chapel.
There were tons of artefacts rescued from the bottom of the sea.
Here we see a ring that is slowly being extracted from coral. It caught my eye because I have one just like it. :-O
Mine doesn’t have engraving but is otherwise very similar.
This was a great little museum. I was just a little frustrated that there was a lot of specialized vocabulary I did not know and I could not easily do translation research. I had to go up to a guard tower on the roof for cell service and shade to do my research.
Next stop was the Mirador, scenic viewpoint, and the Benito Juarez statue that watches over Campeche.
View from the Mirador.
Kind of like being behind the Hollywood sign. 🙂
This is the steep road we had to climb and I had to walk down. It doesn’t not look impressive in this photo, but let me tell you, it was no picnic!
Parroquia San Francisco de Asís
Always look down walking in Campeche as these holes abound and some of them are wide open and big enough to fall in!
Guadalupe church that I saw on my tram tour Monday.
It took exactly one hour to stroll from the fort to Plaza Principal.
I had to return to Santo Taquito for my last meal!
Coconut shrimp again (left), queso relleno in the middle (a taco with raisins!), and castacan (pork belly) on the right. YUUUUUM.
Mérida has broken my tastebuds as this was barely warm. The coconut shrimp taco really benefitted from some heat.
It was 3:00 as I headed back to the hotel, so I thought I had plenty of time for a final coffee at Origen…
I got back to the hotel around 3:20 and requested a taxi, which did not show up until almost 4:00, and my bus was at 4:20! We FLEW to the bus station… where I learned all the Mérida buses were delayed! Thankfully, my delay was only about 30 minutes.
Gracias, Campeche, y hasta pronto. 🙂
The ride home flew by. The only excitement was a military checkpoint at the state border (the first since my drive to Yucatán), but there was no document check.
It was chaos around the bus station as we came in as streets were closed and there was a police roadblock. A taxi driver thought he saw a mark and wanted to charge me $150 to get home. Uber wanted $70, but when I changed my pickup pin by a block, they doubled the price. Didi was $90, but the texting function was down again, so I was not able to tell the driver which side of a busy street to pick me up. Total chaos. I was truly home! I ended up getting in around 8:15 and my lovely housesitter had dinner waiting.
My five days in Campeche already feel like a dream. They did me a world of good and it felt terrific to be back out in the world.